Atlanta Falcons: Is Devonta Freeman a perennial Pro-Bowler or one season wonder?
One of the biggest surprises of the Atlanta Falcons 2015 season was the stellar play by running back Devonta Freeman.
The young back out of Florida State rushed for 1,056 yards and an impressive 11 touchdowns. Additionally, Freeman gained 578 yards receiving and three touchdown receptions. This outstanding performance earned the second-year Falcon a trip to the Pro Bowl, a spot on a 2nd-team All-Pro list, a spot on NFL Network’s Top 100, and a place in the heart of every Falcon fan.
However, Freeman significantly slowed down as the season progressed. He broke out in Week 3 against the Cowboys, with 141 yards and three touchdowns, and continued to dominate until playing the 49ers in Week 9. The 49ers’ defense smothered the running game and held Freeman to just 12 yards in an embarrassing loss by the Falcons.
Any effort to rebound and overcome his poor game was lost in Week 10 against the Colts when he suffered a concussion and left the game in the first quarter. Unfortunately, he never appeared at full strength after the injury, and did not have a 100-yard game or multiple touchdown game for the remainder of the season.
Most Falcons fans will simply dismiss his play towards the end of the season, as the entire team seemed to be in a slump after losing seven of their final nine games. Others will cite that Freeman was still recovering from his injury, or the wear and tear of being a starting NFL running back prevented him from flying all over the field like he did in the first half of the season. But a few others will wonder, what if he benefitted from playing against weaker teams, like the Cowboys, at the start of the season, and isn’t yet ready to bang pads with tougher defenses?
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There is no way to tell if he will be a Pro Bowler or at least a good starting running back until the next season is well under way and he has more carries under his belt, but examining the offensive mindset of Kyle Shanahan and Freeman’s college career can be used to gauge a prediction.
Kyle Shanahan follows the same offensive philosophy as his father, two-time Super Bowl winning coach Mike Shanahan. The Shanahan offense carefully balances the running and passing, but the run game is almost always dominant.
Mike Shanahan is famous for turning unimpressive backs into 1000-yard rushers, and is responsible for the break-out success of Terrell Davis in the 90s with the Broncos. Schemes like the Zone Blocking System for the offensive line allow quick and explosive running backs to be wildly successful.
Names like Clinton Portis, Mike Anderson, and Tatum Bell stand out on Shanahan’s resume.
However, some criticize that the run game success is not sustained. Names like Portis, Anderson, and Bell stand out on Shanahan’s resume, all of them notched at least one season of 1000 yards rushing under Shanahan, but struggled to maintain that level of success as their careers moved on.
Going back to Freeman’s days at Florida State, the picture of a success-hungry, young, and athletic running back is revealed. In his three years of college ball, his season rushing average was never below 4.8 yards per carry, and was 5.9 yards per carry during his sophomore and junior years.
Through his junior season, he broke 1,000 yards rushing for the first time, was named First-team All-ACC, and was part of a monstrous offense led by Heisman-winning QB Jameis Winston and dangerous receiving threats like Nick O’Leary, Kelvin Benjamin, and Rashad Greene. Freeman’s rushing helped FSU cruise to an undefeated and undisputed National Championship in 2013.
Considering Freeman’s college success and the fact that Shanahan offenses are geared for running backs to be easily successful, one can make the assumption that Freeman will continue to fly all over the field in the NFL. However, given that basically all running backs under Mike or Kyle Shanahan offenses, excluding Terrell Davis, were never able to maintain top-tier status, the average fan feels nervous about Freeman’s future in the league.
Most fans feel like Freeman will rebound and overcome the struggles he faced in the second half of last season, especially with the new and improved offensive line with the addition of Alex Mack at center and with Matt Ryan more experienced in the new offense. But will he be durable enough to maintain his stellar performance for the entire season? Only time will tell.
Next: Falcons lack of depth a major concern
Make a prediction for Freeman next season and leave it in the comments below!